Today's News

Wandering around
The experience I had at [a convenience store] was horrible. There were non-employees cleaning the establishment and coming out of the back with other employees at the same time. There have been many times when guys have been loitering in the store in the morning hours. I can’t believe the establishment would allow this.

HILLSVILLE — It’s probably no coincidence that Pulaski County’s recreational park and pool has nationally known restaurants and a big box store that located nearby, a supporter of a new pool told Carroll County supervisors Monday evening.
Those businesses in Dublin came along after the county created Randolph Park, noted Lisa Payne Delp. It’s likely that the pool and its 51,000 visitors led to growth and jobs in that locality.

At an annual political event on Saturday, political candidates got an earful of mountain music and local issues.
The somewhat ironically named Poor Man’s Dinner — it reflects the humble Southern fare on the menu, not the financial status of the attendees — is an annual tradition during Galax’s annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention.
Over 350 politicians from all over Virginia, political candidates and community leaders from attended the picnic in Felts Park on Saturday, sponsored by the Twin County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

INDEPENDENCE — Grayson County will delay its next reassessment to defer some of the costs, at a time when real estate values remain steady.
County Administrator Jonathan Sweet spoke briefly about the recommendation during the board’s regular meeting Aug. 9.
Sweet said supervisors did an exceptional job of deferring expenses during the 2012-13 budget preparation process.
One of the by-products of the discussion of deferring costs is a plan to change the county’s reassessment schedule.

A North Carolina man was found dead inside a car at a Blue Ridge Parkway overlook on Aug. 3, the same day the vehicle was reported stolen.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Department reports that a witness saw the car parked at the Sugarloaf Overlook, near parkway milepost 204, for several hours. The witness found that suspicious, and called police.
Carroll Sheriff J.B. Gardner said that when deputies responded, they found the body of Michael Jackson Willard, 43, of Mount Airy, N.C., in the car.

HILLSVILLE — Criminals always leave something behind at the scene, and it’s up to the police to find it.
That’s been Hillsville Police Department’s Sgt. James Alderman philosophy over the years. If he takes his time at a crime scene and “walks the grid,” examining the place carefully, the town investigator can spot the essential clues.

For 11 years, a traveling club of Airstream campers has made annual visits to Galax and the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, dining at local restaurants and donating funds to a local charity organization.
However, this past week was the last trip to Galax for the group, at least for a while.